Google’s AI-powered Allo messaging app to launch on September 21

Google’s ambitious AI-powered messaging app, which was announced in during the I/O conference in May this year, may finally see a launch this week.  Serial tipster Evan Blass revealed via a tweet, that the app will launch on September 21. It will compete with Facebook's WhatsApp and Messenger.

9/21. https://t.co/8Ne6gj0NJS

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 19, 2016

Google Allo features a chatbot, powered by the Google Assistant. It’s based off your phone number, so you can call anyone in your contact list, and also features a bunch of expression tools to play around with.

A simple Whisper-Shout mechanic lets you type out text and then, drag the send button up or down to decrease or increase the text size respectively. Ink lets you post a photo in chat and then draw in it. Smart Reply, on the other hand, is a little different. It’s a feature that provides contextual quick response options for a chat.

It even works for photos you receive in chat with Google’s photo recognition at work, to the point that it can even identify a breed of dog in a picture, to mention in your reply. Allo also has Google Search integration, meaning making dinner plans just got a lot easier. You can search for restaurants within the app itself, which pops up Google Cards all chat members can see. After that, you can even go ahead and make reservations through the app.